Thursday, October 11, 2012

When the Oakland A’s signed Coco Crisp in January, the experts scoffed. When he was still failing to hit his weight in June, the move looked even worse.

Back then, not even the most optimistic A’s fan could have come up with the scene that unfolded Wednesday night.

Crisp’s two-out single in the bottom of the ninth gave the A’s a thrilling 4-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers, forcing the division series to a decisive Game 5 on Thursday night at the Coliseum, where 36,385 fans rocked the concrete bowl to its core celebrating Crisp.

It was the A’s major league-leading 15th walk-off victory of the season, and Crisp has driven in the winner in three of them.

“I don’t think there’s anybody that we feel better about in that situation than Coco,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said.

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The Tigers have proved -- beyond any shadow of any doubt -- that they don't belong here. (So have the Orioles: you let Raul Ibanez beat you? Raul Ibanez? How old is he, sixty? Raul Effing Ibanez?!) They don't care, so why should I?

Naah. Playing like this, and no Verlander in Game 1 in Yankee Stadium? Can you say "sweep", boys and girls?

If - gigantic if - the Tigers advance to play New York, starting pitching would be the least of my concerns. I'd be much more worried about our popgun offence and ropey bullpen. Oh, and that we can't catch the ball worth ####. It might be a different game if Infante actually makes a play on Reddick's grounder last nite.

Enjoy the game Athletic Supporter. These Oakland crowds have been incredible.

The Tigers have proved -- beyond any shadow of any doubt -- that they don't belong here.

RMc, ignore who won and take heart and hope from the home-road victory pattern of this ALCS. This has so far been the mirror image of that series, right down to the game 4 comeback, and if it continues you'll have a happy ending.

Now if only I could figure out a way for the Yanks to steal another game from the Orioles, but I fear that's asking for way too much..........

If - gigantic if - the Tigers advance to play New York, starting pitching would be the least of my concerns. I'd be much more worried about our popgun offence and ropey bullpen.

Watching the games, it seems like a bullpen of Albuquerque-Benoit-Coke-Dotel would be pretty solid. If last night means the demotion of Jackass Grande, it could be a blessing in disguise.

The Tigers have been a three-man offense most of the season. That is probably a better alignment, for a poor hitting team, than a lineup that's just mediocre all the way through. They can score against anyone in the innings their 1-3-4 hitters bat. That's a problem overall, but not a new one.

In a potential seven game series, the Tigers would still be able to pitch both Scherzer and Verlander twice (2-6 and 3-7). Their starting pitching is still the strength of the team, and would still be in a potential ALCS.

EDIT: Wait, with the off days, Verlander can go 3-7 on normal rest if they get to the ALCS. But Scherzer would have to go on short rest in Game 2 to make that work. Would the Tigers do that, given his shoulder? And given that Sanchez and Fister are good pitchers themselves. Seems like Fister-Sanchez-Verlander-Scherzer would be the more likely alignment.

Exactly what I predicted last time, and Parker pitched very creditably. So the likely result, of course, is that Coco hits another leadoff HR, and that his 2nd HR in his 2nd PA knocks Verlander out.

Verlander pitches poorly early on when he gets too up for a game. He loses his control, particularly on his off speed stuff. If he comes in like he did in game 1, he should be fine. But if he comes in think he has to strike everyone out on one pitch, he won't last long.

Valverde has always been the nail-biter sort of closer, but he generally got out of those situations in 2010 and always in 2011 (assuming it was a save situation), but it's been a different story in 2012. He's still nailed down a lot of save opportunities that looked bad, but there have been some outings that resembled last night's where he just got smacked around and it wasn't really a question if he'd blow the save, but if he'd get out of there before the other team went ahead.

As for tonight, I still think the Tigers have to be favored. Their offense may be incapable of scoring without homers and Coco Crisp bobbles, but Verlader will almost certainly throw 140 pitches to keep things close.

As for tonight, I still think the Tigers have to be favored. Their offense may be incapable of scoring without homers and Coco Crisp bobbles, but Verlader will almost certainly throw 140 pitches to keep things close.

This pretty much kills the A's strategy of wearing down the starter and getting to the Tiger pen. Also I assume Fister is available in relief after those 140 from Verlander. Parker, Cook, Doolittle and Balfour just aren't that imposing compared to this duo.

This pretty much kills the A's strategy of wearing down the starter and getting to the Tiger pen. Also I assume Fister is available in relief after those 140 from Verlander. Parker, Cook, Doolittle and Balfour just aren't that imposing compared to this duo.

I think the A's need to forget trying to wear Verlander down today and just try to hit him. And mostly pray Jarrod Parker pitches the game of his career.

Maybe somebody talked about this somewhere else, but anybody have a thought about why the A's didn't run for Smith last night?
I was thinking they'd get Weeks in there, as the winning run + fastest man on the bench... but I'm probably missing something.

In my mind, the Tigers were eliminated last night. And since this postseason seems determined to produce an unspeakable Yankees-Cardinals World Series, looks like I'm done with baseball for 2012.

Yes, last nite sucked. But this is the playoffs. You have to go through good teams. Winning playoff series is difficult. If you'd asked me in March if I would take having the planet's best pitcher on full rest for Game 5 of the ALDS, I would have grabbed that with both hands.

I was neutral to start the series - have Tigers fans in the family and some family still in Detroit, but have some close A's fan friends and followed the A's down the stretch vicariously. When the A's got down two games, obviously I was going to root for more baseball. Now that it's game 5, it appears I'm going with my family. I just love watching Justin Verlander pitch, and I still really like the city of Detroit. Go Tigers.

If last night means the demotion of Jackass Grande, it could be a blessing in disguise.

Is there any chance Valverde loses the closer's job? There's not, right?

I've only seen the clip a couple of times, but my impression is that Smith was going to be way, way out if Garcia fielded it cleanly and made just a decent throw. He looked like he was going to be more out than Drew was at third. Of course, in that situation, I see why you send him.

Probably not enough so that you'd want to handcuff yourself if you need someone off the bench later. Rosales is no Herb Washington.

Also, after Smith's double, Kottaras hit for Norris. That makes Rosales kind of the non-catching emergency catcher, in that if Kottaras were to get injured, Donaldson would have to catch and Rosales play third.

I've seen Weeks during the playoffs. Guys who aren't on the playoff 25 are still allowed in uniform in the dugouts, apparently. I've seen 'em on other teams, too.

Ah, OK, good. I know I saw Brandon McCarthy in there, though he definitely isn't getting into any games... yet.

Probably not enough so that you'd want to handcuff yourself if you need someone off the bench later. Rosales is no Herb Washington.

No, but I agree with RB, that Smith looked to be out by a LOT if Garcia picked that up cleanly.
My first thought was, "Get the fastest guy you can on second base, and worry about later, later."
My second thought should have been, "It is October 10, so NOW you are second-guessing Bob Melvin? Just go do the Bernie, and while you're doing it, shut up."

As a Tigers I have to say last nights game was brutal and here it is going on noon and I still haven't gotten over Valverde's blown save. I must say that after watching these games the A's fans are absolutely amazing and if the A's were playing any other team I would be rooting like hell for them to win. Every time the cameras show a shot of the crowd everyone is on their feet and someone is blowing a horn and another person is waving a sign and it is LOUD. Very impressive. I was fortunate enough to go to the first two games of this series in Detroit and I couldn't have been more disappointed. Yeah it was cold but the only time the crowd did anything was when they chanted MVP every time Cabrera came to the plate, and most of the time the fans were complaining about the players, grumbling about Leyland or booing the relievers. Very pathetic. I don't know when Tigers fans became so entitled but it is very annoying. After suffering through that awful 2003 season I just feel grateful for anytime they end the season with a winning record or when I get to a game and don't have to watch Adam Bernero "pitch"

However, with all that being said I hope Verlander goes out there tonight and pitches a two hitter and Parker gets chased out of the stadium by the third inning and the place is as quiet as a church.

Lost in all this euphoria is how in the hell do the Yankees keep winning with their offense being so bad in the series?

Good question. I still think the Orioles are likely to pull it off.

I thought the Orioles would hit a lot better than they are right now.

Well, the Yankees' pitching has had something to do with that. That rotation of theirs is like the little girl with the curl, either very, very good or very, very bad. So far they've been very, very good, but that's hardly money in the bank going forward.

I still have warm fuzzies for Detroit and the way they smacked down those damnable upstart Gaveys 28 years ago, though.

In the NL, though, I am earnestly hoping to see everyone alive get caught in a massive PED scandal that decimates every remaining roster... Slim pickings - I guess the Nationals are the team for which I harbor the least resentment.

Cook has now pitched in 8 of the A's last 9 games. Balfour's pitched in 7 of the last 9 and Doolittle in 7 of the last 8. Finishing it off in the 9th and allowing Balfour to rest should allow him to go 2 innings tonight. They're gonna need it, as Tommy Milone coming in from the pen in an all-hands-on-deck situation isn't all that helpful.

I feel bad for Gomes and (to a lesser extent) Carter, who probably won't play this series. I'm still totally into the platoons, but it sucks for Gomes after putting together a career year. He was probably a better PH option than Kottaras.

I don't know when Tigers fans became so entitled but it is very annoying.

I don't think it's "entitlement"; it's just with this team you can never relax. No lead is safe; any ball can be dropped; any opposing pitcher can suddenly look like a Cy Young candidate. It's almost like we're afraid to cheer, as if the baseball gods will hear and punish us.

I don't think it's "entitlement"; it's just with this team you can never relax. No lead is safe; any ball can be dropped; any opposing pitcher can suddenly look like a Cy Young candidate. It's almost like we're afraid to cheer, as if the baseball gods will hear and punish us.

Sure, it's a very flawed team that seems to make everything (including winning a piss-weak division) as difficult as possible. Still, the 2012 Tigers season has featured a Triple Crown, a Cy Young quality season, Doug Fister King 9 guys in a row, Andy Dirks's neck, WINNING THE DIVISION... we're pretty lucky, considering.
Edit

I don't think it's "entitlement"; it's just with this team you can never relax. No lead is safe; any ball can be dropped; any opposing pitcher can suddenly look like a Cy Young candidate.

In other words, the Detroit Tigers are a baseball team.

The Tigers do have a legitimately bad defense, which is frustrating to watch, but the fact that their bullpen isn't impregnable and opposing pitchers are unpredictable, that's just how baseball is.

I note that RMc did not say that any lineup can suddenly look like a murderer's row against their starters. Because the Tigers have one of the best starting rotations in all of baseball. But fans of most other clubs, if they were venting their spleen, would have mentioned that.

I was wondering the same thing. If Garcia plays that ball clean, I'd bet on Smith being out at the plate. Is Smith faster than I thought he was? He looks like an oaf.

He never seemed particularly slow to me when he was in Colorado. FWIW and I'm not sure how much this means, his baserunning runs on bb-ref are pretty average (+2 lifetime), the XBH stats are also pretty average.

Whenever fans of a team in a playoff series claim it's over before the elimination game I think...if you want to know what a season being over looks like, look at the Jays. You could be watching your team play in a playoff game. How could you not feel lucky? If I ever get to the point in my life where that's not at the very least the highlight of my day I may as well stop being a baseball fan.

...which is surprisingly useless when you have a pathetic offense and an awful bullpen. Detroit allowed just three runs (count 'em) in the first 17 innings in Oakland. They lost both games anyway. So, yeah.

I am hoping that somehow the Tigers win this game. Honestly neither the Yankees or Orioles frighten me enough to think we will get swept by them if we somehow make it. I will be seeing The Master though tonight...probably better for my nerves.

Whenever fans of a team in a playoff series claim it's over before the elimination game I think...if you want to know what a season being over looks like, look at the Jays. You could be watching your team play in a playoff game. How could you not feel lucky? If I ever get to the point in my life where that's not at the very least the highlight of my day I may as well stop being a baseball fan.

Whenever fans of a team in a playoff series claim it's over before the elimination game I think...if you want to know what a season being over looks like, look at the Jays. You could be watching your team play in a playoff game. How could you not feel lucky? If I ever get to the point in my life where that's not at the very least the highlight of my day I may as well stop being a baseball fan.

I felt that way from 1989 through 2006. Then I wanted the team to actually achieve what it was capable of achieving, instead of being satisfied with the mere capability. 2007 and 2009, especially the latter, left a bad taste in my mouth, and those of a lot of Tiger fans. This season was impossible to enjoy, too, because they should have been leading the division all year, or at least within a game or two given the surprising White Sox, but they were several games behind most of the way, and showed no signs of rallying. It looked like a lost opportunity. Mike Illitch isn't getting any younger, and the team will not have nearly as high of a payroll after he goes.

The playoffs are a crapshoot, and I'm the first to say that. But there's a difference between losing while playing like a team that has some business being there and doing what the Tigers have done in this series. Game 2 was an absolute gift. Only in Game 1 did they play remotely decently. If the Tigers had had the series the Reds had, or the series the Nationals and Cardinals have had, and were tied 2-2 or had just lost 2-3, I would be satisfied. Obviously, if they were to win tonight, I'd still find a way to be satisfied, but I don't exactly have to worry about that.

Whenever fans of a team in a playoff series claim it's over before the elimination game I think...if you want to know what a season being over looks like, look at the Jays. You could be watching your team play in a playoff game. How could you not feel lucky? If I ever get to the point in my life where that's not at the very least the highlight of my day I may as well stop being a baseball fan.

Yes.

You think you guys have it bad? We've been listening to Buck Martinez all year.

The Tigers have proved -- beyond any shadow of any doubt -- that they don't belong here. (So have the Orioles: you let Raul Ibanez beat you? Raul Ibanez? How old is he, sixty? Raul Effing Ibanez?!) They don't care, so why should I?

It was a heck of a season, A's. The Texas sweep ranks right up there with win #20 in my Beane era A's support.

No doubt. I feel weirdly at peace even after last night's loss. There was something immensely satisfying about winning the division against the longest of odds this year. That it was a very fun/likeable team to watch, too, made it even better. I have no idea how good this team will be going forward, but flags fly forever and the AL WEST 2012 CHAMPIONS flag is going to look pretty snazzy.

Shooty: I'm definitely not saying it WOULD have made a difference. Just that it might. Mostly, I'm just a guy whose team (the higher seed in its game) got bounced and is sitting here watching all the higher seeds go down. It's "fun" in that zany-March Madness-NFL style but it seems wrong to me.

Shooty: I'm definitely not saying it WOULD have made a difference. Just that it might. Mostly, I'm just a guy whose team (the higher seed in its game) got bounced and is sitting here watching all the higher seeds go down. It's "fun" in that zany-March Madness-NFL style but it seems wrong to me.

I think it might have, too. The emotion of the Oakland crowd for game 1 would have been off the chart and may have helped the team. We'll never know, but I think the higher seed has earned the right to start at home. I understand the rationale for doing it the way they do, though.

No doubt. I feel weirdly at peace even after last night's loss. There was something immensely satisfying about winning the division against the longest of odds this year. That it was a very fun/likeable team to watch, too, made it even better. I have no idea how good this team will be going forward, but flags fly forever and the AL WEST 2012 CHAMPIONS flag is going to look pretty snazzy.

At peace here as well. The whole thing was such an impossible dream, I can't feel anything but happy about the 2012 squad. The first round losses of the early '00s were gut-wrenching becuase expectations were so much higher. This time, a game 5 appearance was just gravy -- rich, mushroomy, savory gravy -- after a fantastic & giddy second half.

I think it might have, too. The emotion of the Oakland crowd for game 1 would have been off the chart and may have helped the team. We'll never know, but I think the higher seed has earned the right to start at home. I understand the rationale for doing it the way they do, though.

Could've helped snag game two, i guess, but what are you gonna do.

People are PO'ed about that here in Washington also, especially since it meant the cities first playoff game in 80 years was at 1 pm on a wednesday.

Posted this in the chatter but to rehash: The ovation that the team got after game 5 was amazing. I've rarely heard as loud "let's go Oakland" chants as in the stadium after game 5. The team was sitting on the bench kinda sad and the crowd just kept chanting for several minutes, and you could see them pick up a bit, and eventually they came out and there was just a HUGE roar. The players hugged each other, Cliff Pennington threw batting gloves (I think) into the crowd, various players waved and were appreciated, tipped their caps, etc.. It was one of the most incredible scenes I've seen at the ballpark, and a huge contrast to after the game 5 losses in 2000, 2002, and 2003 when everyone was just miserable.

(As a side note, this must have been weird for the Tigers, who were dogpiling on the mound while everyone was chanting for the home team.)

I think this format ended up better for the A's. If the first 4 games go the same way (all home team wins), wouldn't you rather go into game 5 on a 2-game winning streak and a jacked-up crowd, rather than a two-game losing streak and a correspondingly nervous crowd (a la 2002)? Of course, math-wise, it doesn't matter at all, except for the 3-game sweep case where the higher-seeded team loses a bunch of revenue to the lower-seeded team. But none of this affected the series really -- games 1 and 3 were mirror images, games 2 and 4 were mirror images (the A's surely should have won game 2 and the Tigers surely should have won game 4) and the rubber game went to a great pitching performance by one of the league's best pitchers. I'm at peace with the outcome and good luck to the Tigers.